In 1941, the musical comedy “Anton Ivanovich gets angry” was shot in Leningrad. It is a wonderful film; it is watched today, as well, thanks to professionalism of actors and high quality music of Dmitri Kabalevsky. The residents of Leningrad did not see the film until the end of the war though nobody was taking the posters off during the severe years of hunger and bombarding, they somewhere were consoling people in blockade, reminding about the peaceful life. And the film was shown in the front, and according to the participants of the war, it was more encouraging our soldiers than the movies about the war itself where fascists were introduced as real morons. No one ever thought to complain about why, for example, wounded soldiers in the hospitals are shown a movie, where well-dressed and fed up people were arguing as to what music is more important, classic, or operetta.
Recently, I’ve heard and read a lot of strange judgments about the “Golden Apricot” film festival. They discuss not the movies, even the strengths and weaknesses of the organization of the festival, but whether it is necessary to hold an International Film Festival in Yerevan. Some of the arguments are of ‘socio-political’ nature, what festival, when 40 percent of Armenia’s population … when the caravan of fugitives … when today’s envers and taliats … and so on. I think that even under this condition it is worthy to show that Armenia can become a center for international cultural event, that thousands of people live here who love and appreciate the true arts.
The other part of the arguments, the so-called is of “national liberation”, Turkish and Azerbaijani films, harassments against national identity, and so on. I would like to remind you that during the Great Patriotic War, Beethoven’s music was not banned in our country (Wagner was banned because the composer was much more or less talking about racist themes, and Nazi liked those ravings). Let’s also recall the documentary book of Gurgen Mahari “Barbed Wire in Flower”, how the inmates in the Soviet concentration camp were able to explain their inspectors that the German well-known poet Hayne’s sculpture can be created. Try to have at least broad-mindedness level of “Gulag», if a person is a Turk or Azerbaijani, it does not have to be an enemy.
Looking for a Masonic conspiracy in the “Golden Apricot” film festival was the extreme manifestation of “National liberation” arguments. It is from the genre of an anecdote.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
